A wrongful termination lawyer helps employees who have been fired in violation of their legal rights, such as breach of contract, discrimination, or retaliation for exercising legal rights. They aim to secure reinstatement or cash damages for their clients.
A wrongful termination lawyer practices in a specific area of employment law, dealing with cases where an employee has been terminated in violation of their legal rights. The attorney represents the employee to secure reinstatement of work and/or cash damages to her client. There are several employment situations that a wrongful termination attorney can address, including breach of contract, workers compensation claims, workplace safety and sexual harassment.
This type of attorney handles various forms of termination that can make the discharge illegal. One is when the employee is fired for exercising his legal rights. This involves things like filing a workers compensation claim, reporting your employer’s safety violations to the appropriate government agency, or asking your employer to comply with state or federal regulations, such as overtime wage laws and minimum wage. Such terminations are illegal because they violate public policy in the areas of safe and fair working conditions.
Another type of wrongful termination involves the breach or “breach” of a contract between the employer and the employee regarding specific terms of employment. The contract can be written or oral, as long as the employee is given specific information about things like pay and working conditions. The contract may also be “implied” through statements or representations by the employer contained in a policy handbook or employment handbook. The wrongful termination attorney would try to show how the materials constituted a legal agreement between the employer and the employee.
In some situations, an employer may find ways to force an employee to leave, rather than firing them. In these “constructive termination” situations, the wrongful termination attorney must prove that it was the employer’s conduct that caused the employee to leave the job. Conduct can include such things as withholding raises or bonuses, making up mistakes made by the employee, or assigning the employee new tasks outside of their job description. In extreme cases, the employer may even fabricate stories about the employee. The attorney may then have to litigate the defamation issue as part of the wrongful termination claim.
Sometimes, an employee may lose their job because of discrimination by their employer. State and federal laws prohibit discrimination based on age, race, sex, national origin and religion. In some cases, if the employee is subject to pervasive sexual harassment, it may constitute sex discrimination. In cases of discrimination, the employee may first have to “settle” the complaint with an administrative body such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EECOC) before filing a lawsuit. The dismissal attorney would represent the employee in EECOC proceedings and any subsequent hearings.
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